Dinner at Coppa

Well, I ate vegetarian for the entire week, but Thursday night’s dinner at Coppa pretty much included a week’s worth of meat. And if you are going to go whole hog, recent Chopped winner Jamie Bissonette is the chef to do it with.

A bunch of us started talking about having dinner at Coppa at Taste of the Nation, and Elina made it happen. Coppa finally takes reservations, making it a little easier to snag a table in their tiny South End dining room.

After a great week of work, on Boston’s nicest day in recent history, I first met Megan, Daisy, and Michelle for drinks at Franklin Café, and then we made our way to meet Elina and Bianca at Coppa.

Coppa is the collaboration of well-known Boston chefs, Jamie Bissonette and Ken Oringer and is a true South End gem focused on Italian-inspired small plates made with locally sourced ingredients. It’s the kind of place you want to spend hours and hours and hours eating and drinking, and that’s just what we did.

There was lots of laughter over a few drinks . I started with the Sardinian Lemonade which was a blend of Meletti Amaro, lemon, and prosecco. It was tart, a little bitter, and reminded me a little of an iced tea lemonade. Completely a summer drink.

Coppa is ideal for groups because it’s all about ordering tons of small plates and sharing. We ordered lots of dishes and still didn’t cover everything we wanted. Some of the highlights:

A salumi board with a variety meats including duck prosciutto, Prosciutto di Parma, and other tasty bites. I don’t even know what it was, but I liked the little circles the best. It had a rich, truffle-y flavor.

Wood roasted meatballs were one of my favorites of the evening.

Tuna belly with anchovy on a crusty bread

Another favorite, Trophie pasta with pesto, potatoes, and parmesan, the ultimate comfort.

One of the specials, black cod crudo with burratta. Next time I would skip the cod and just go for the burratta. Cheese and fish is a weird combo.

My second time eating the Salsiccia pizza, and my second time loving it. The sausage and chewy crust offer a spicy kick, cooled by a glass of Bastianch Rosato.

I missed photographing a few items including the chicken livers (not my favorite) and some roasted asparagus with a not-so-nicely cooked poached egg.

We finished the evening off with a cheese board, bread pudding, and a bottle of sparkling Faive Merlot/Cabernet Franc, the first time I had a bubbly of those grapes but most definitely not the last!

And I may have also gone out to Delux after with Michelle and Daisy for a little more fun. Just maybe

There were a few items at Coppa we weren’t crazy about, but as it was my second time there, I feel like I know now a bunch of items that I love and would order again and again. I love their wine program and cocktails; they can only serve cordials as far as liquor goes, and their cocktails are fresh and creative. It’s delightfully noisy, thankfully enough so to cover our conversation. I loved spending the evening with such wonderful friends, and I look forward to doing it again soon!